No weather data in Iraq or Afghanistan

[Tim Vasquez]

I just noticed there is no weather data being transmitted from the occupied territories of Iraq and Afghanistan. The map shows METAR and SYNOP reports. Pakistan is also absent, presumably a result of the usual distrust between them and India.

Tim

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Looks like Syria also has a data black-out. Tension is building again with Syria again over suicide bombers crossing the border, etc.

 

[Chris DeRosier]

But luckily for us, we do have our very own David Draun able to report the weather in Iraq!

 

[David Wolfson]

I just googled "iraq weather observations" and got this site: http://en.allmetsat.com/metar-taf/pakistan...afghanistan.php
Iraq indeed draws a blank, but Pakistan and Afghanistan have a few reporting stations, FWIW.

I guess Iraq's new-found, blessed freedom includes the freedom not to report the weather. :cry:

 

[Morgan Palmer]

For aviation and other purposes, I am quite confident the military knows EXACTLY what the weather is doing around those areas.

As for not sharing it with us... perhaps they have a lot on their plate right now.

 

[John Massura]

When I was up at AFWA doing satellite analysis, we did a lot of satellite-based dust products, and we did have a good number of station reports from Pakistan. We also had a few from Afghanistan, usually just where we had troops (i.e. the main bases). We did not have any Iraq obs, at least as of a year ago. I'm reasonably certain we had a few Syria obs as well, at least for Damascus.

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Oh, btw, not sure if anyone noticed on the map up top there, a couple of stations were reporting 49C... or 120F. Also lots of sites near the Strait of Hormuz with dewpoints in the 80s.

 

[David Draun]

But luckily for us, we do have our very own David Draun able to report the weather in Iraq!

No change here! Hot and sunny, but dewpoints continue to creep up. They were in the upper 60's the other day. Come on, Cumulus!

 

[Geoff Boyle]

I hear that our newly deployed troops arrived to nasty weather in Afghanistan.

 

[David Shohami]

But luckily for us, we do have our very own David Draun able to report the weather in Iraq!

No change here! Hot and sunny, but dewpoints continue to creep up. They were in the upper 60's the other day. Come on, Cumulus!

(sorry for the large image!)

Iraq (and the entire Middle-East) is under the influence of the "Persian Trough" which is a seasonal thermal extension of the Indian monsoon. But even under these apparently excellent surface conditions no clouds can grow at all, in most areas, because of the stubborn subtropical ridge that sits over us until September and the dry surface flow. It's really depressing!

In the next 3 days an unusually nice upper-level trough will move through the Middle East and perhaps you'll see cloud development.

 

[David Draun]

Well how about that? CLOUDS!

There were altostratus and altocumulus in the morning. Around noon, the elevated puffy fair-weather cumulus popped up all over the sky. Now all we need are those damn things to drop down a little and grow taller.

I'm happy to see clouds though, seeing just the sun is getting annoying.

 

[David Shohami]

Yesterday local thunderstorms developed in Lebanon, Syria, and northern Jordan on the border with Israel. This is very rare for the summer and probably happens once a decade! Obviously not something I can chase, but even seeing from a distance is great!